Method and apparatus for controlling or paging a user equipment

ABSTRACT

The present disclosure relates to a communication method and system for converging a 5th-Generation (5G) communication system for supporting higher data rates beyond a 4th-Generation (4G) system with a technology for Internet of Things (IoT). The present disclosure may be applied to intelligent services based on the 5G communication technology and the IoT-related technology, such as smart home, smart building, smart city, smart car, connected car, health care, digital education, smart retail, security and safety services. The present disclosure discloses a method for controlling and paging a user equipment (UE). In the method, an access network node receives mobility level information of a UE; and the access network node performs handover control and/or measurement control and/or paging for the UE according to mobility level information of the UE. Provided with the present disclosure, system resources can be saved and overall system performance can be improved. The present disclosure further provides a method and device for selecting a core network for a User Equipment (UE) by an enhanced Long Term Evolution (LTE) base station. The method comprises the steps of: establishing a radio resource control (RRC) connection to a UE; selecting a core network corresponding to the UE according to a preset condition; receiving a response message transmitted by the corresponding core network; and, transmitting a RRC configuration message to the UE to configure or reconfigure a user plane for the UE. The method of the present disclosure can select a proper core network for a terminal, so that a UE in 5G can use the features of 5G to increase the amount of user data and the utilization rate of network frequency.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to radio communications and in particularto a method and apparatus for controlling or paging a user equipment(UE).

BACKGROUND ART

To meet the demand for wireless data traffic having increased sincedeployment of 4G communication systems, efforts have been made todevelop an improved 5G or pre-5G communication system. Therefore, the 5Gor pre-5G communication system is also called a ‘Beyond 4G Network’ or a‘Post LTE System’. The 5G communication system is considered to beimplemented in higher frequency (mmWave) bands, e.g., 60 GHz bands, soas to accomplish higher data rates. To decrease propagation loss of theradio waves and increase the transmission distance, the beamforming,massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO), Full Dimensional MIMO(FD-MIMO), array antenna, an analog beam forming, large scale antennatechniques are discussed in 5G communication systems. In addition, in 5Gcommunication systems, development for system network improvement isunder way based on advanced small cells, cloud Radio Access Networks(RANs), ultra-dense networks, device-to-device (D2D) communication,wireless backhaul, moving network, cooperative communication,Coordinated Multi-Points (CoMP), reception-end interference cancellationand the like. In the 5G system, Hybrid FSK and QAM Modulation (FQAM) andsliding window superposition coding (SWSC) as an advanced codingmodulation (ACM), and filter bank multi carrier (FBMC), non-orthogonalmultiple access (NOMA), and sparse code multiple access (SCMA) as anadvanced access technology have been developed.

The Internet, which is a human centered connectivity network wherehumans generate and consume information, is now evolving to the Internetof Things (IoT) where distributed entities, such as things, exchange andprocess information without human intervention. The Internet ofEverything (IoE), which is a combination of the IoT technology and theBig Data processing technology through connection with a cloud server,has emerged. As technology elements, such as “sensing technology”,“wired/wireless communication and network infrastructure”, “serviceinterface technology”, and “Security technology” have been demanded forIoT implementation, a sensor network, a Machine-to-Machine (M2M)communication, Machine Type Communication (MTC), and so forth have beenrecently researched. Such an IoT environment may provide intelligentInternet technology services that create a new value to human life bycollecting and analyzing data generated among connected things. IoT maybe applied to a variety of fields including smart home, smart building,smart city, smart car or connected cars, smart grid, health care, smartappliances and advanced medical services through convergence andcombination between existing Information Technology (IT) and variousindustrial applications.

In line with this, various attempts have been made to apply 5Gcommunication systems to IoT networks. For example, technologies such asa sensor network, Machine Type Communication (MTC), andMachine-to-Machine (M2M) communication may be implemented bybeamforming, MIMO, and array antennas. Application of a cloud RadioAccess Network (RAN) as the above-described Big Data processingtechnology may also be considered to be as an example of convergencebetween the 5G technology and the IoT technology.

Modern mobile communication technologies more and more tend to provideusers with multimedia services at high transmission rates. FIG. 1 showsa diagram of a system architecture evolution (SAE) system architecture.

In FIG. 1, a user equipment (UE) 101 is a terminal device for receivingdata. An evolved universal terrestrial radio access network (E-UTRAN)102 is a radio access network which includes a macro base station(eNodeB/NodeB) that provide an interface for the UE to access a radionetwork. A mobility management entity (MME) 103 is responsible formanaging a mobility context, a session context and security informationof the UE. A serving gateway (SGW) 104 is responsible for providing userplane functions. The MME 103 and the SGW 104 may be located in a samephysical entity. A packet data network gateway (PGW) 105 is responsiblefor functions such as charging and lawful interception, and it may belocated in a same physical entity with the SGW 104 too. A policy andcharging rules function (PCRF) entity 106 is responsible for providingquality of service (QoS) policies and charging rules. A serving generalpacket radio service (GPRS) support node (SGSN) 108 is a network nodedevice that provides routing for data transmissions in a universalmobile telecommunications system (UMTS). A home subscription server(HSS) 109 is a home subscription subsystem of the UE, and it isresponsible for protecting user information such as a current locationof the UE, an address of a serving node, user security information, anda packet data context of the UE.

5G refers to the fifth generation of mobile communication technology.Different from the previous four generations, 5G is not a singlewireless technology but a fusion of existing wireless communicationtechnologies. At present, the peak rate in the LTE can be up to 100Mbps, and the peak rate in 5G will be up to 10 Gbps, which is improvedby 100 times in comparison to 4G. Due to the limited spontaneousprocessing capability, the existing 4G network is unable to support someservices, such as high-resolution video, high-quality voice, augmentedreality and virtual reality. 5G will introduce more advancedtechnologies, satisfy the demands for traffic growth of mobile servicesby higher spectrum efficiency, more spectrum resources, denser cells ormore, solve the problems in the 4G network, and establish a networksociety with high transmission rate, high capability, low delay, highreliability and excellent user experience. As shown in FIG. 1, the 5Garchitecture contains a 5G access network and a 5G core network, and aUser Equipment (UE) communicates with a data network through the accessnetwork and the core network.

An initial overall architecture of the 5G is shown in FIG. 2. Itincludes a next generation (NextGen) UE (also called 5G UE), a nextgeneration access network (also called 5G access network) or nextgeneration radio access network (Next Gen(R)AN), a next generation corenetwork (NextGen Core) (also called 5G core network), and a datanetwork. The UE communicates with the data network through the accessnetwork and the core network.

A control plane interface between the Next Gen(R)AN and the NextGen Coreis NG2, and a user plane interface between the Next Gen(R)AN and theNextGen Core is NG3. The names of these interfaces are only temporarilynamed, and if the 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP) finallydecides to use other names, the main content of the present disclosureis not affected. The NextGen Core further includes a user plane functionentity and a control plane function entity, where the Next Gen (R)ANrepresents NextGen AN or NextGen RAN.

In a next generation mobile communication system, in order todistinguish UE mobility, UE mobility levels are proposed. The UEmobility levels may include:

-   -   No mobility: a UE is static or semi-static, and the UE can only        access a network through a fixed access point;    -   Restricted mobility: a UE moves within a pre-configured        permitted geographical area, e.g., an area in a tracking area        (TA) list; and    -   Unrestricted mobility: a UE can move freely, that is, there is        not a permitted geographical area pre-configured for the UE.

The UE mobility level of a UE is determined by the NextGen Coreaccording to capabilities of the UE, service demand information of theUE, operator strategies, and subscription information of the UE. Duringan attachment or service request procedure of the UE, the NextGen Coresends a decided UE mobility level to the UE. In this way, the UE canperform corresponding mobility operations according to the UE mobilitylevel.

DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION Technical Problem

At present, in the next generation mobile communication system, thenumber of UEs will be greatly increased, and operations for the UEs,such as measurement control, handover and paging, will consume a lot ofsystem resources, which decreases overall transmission performance ofthe system and may not be able to meet UE transmission requirements.

In addition, in the network evolution, the LTE base stations will becontinuously used in the first stage; meanwhile, 5G UEs can besupported, and 5G features can be used. Therefore, it is attractive toand expected by the operators to upgrade the LTE base stations tosupport the 5G features. In order to upgrade the LTE base stations suchthat the LTE base stations can be connected to the 5G core network, thefollowing problems are to be solved:

1) how to select a proper core network for a terminal;

2) how to realize coordination between an enhanced LTE base station anda 5G base station;

3) how to establish a horizontal interface between an enhanced LTE basestation and another enhanced LTE base station; and

4) how to inform a UE of using a proper protocol.

Solution to Problem

The present disclosure provides a method for controlling or paging a UE,so as to save system resources and improve overall system performance.

To achieve the above objects, the present disclosure adopts thefollowing technical schemes:

A method for controlling or paging a user equipment (UE), includes:

receiving, by an access network node, mobility level information of aUE;

performing, by the access network node, handover control and/ormeasurement control and/or paging operation for the UE according tomobility level information of the UE.

Preferably, mobility level information of the UE includes no mobility,restricted mobility, or unrestricted mobility.

Preferably, in response to mobility level information of the UE being nomobility, mobility level information of the UE further includes: nomobility at all, or the UE only moving within a scope of a current cell,current tracking area (TA), or current base station;

and/or

in response to mobility level information of the UE being restrictedmobility, mobility level information of the UE further includes: anidentifier of a geographical area where the UE is allowed to move; inwhich the identifier of the geographical area is an identifier of a TAor base station.

Preferably, in response to mobility level information of the UEincluding the UE only moving within the scope of the current cell,mobility level information of the UE further includes a cell identifierof a cell where the UE is located;

and/or, in response to mobility level information of the UE includingthe UE only moving within the scope of the current TA, mobility levelinformation of the UE further includes a TA identifier of a TA where theUE is located.

Preferably, performing handover control for the UE includes:

in response to mobility level information of the UE including nomobility, or in response to mobility level information of the UEincluding no mobility at all, or in response to mobility levelinformation of the UE including no mobility and the UE only movingwithin the scope of the current cell, the access network node notperforming handover for the UE; and/or

in response to mobility level information of the UE including nomobility, and the UE only moving within the scope of the current TA orcurrent base station, then the access network node not performinghandover to other TAs or base stations other than the TA or base stationwhere the UE is located; and/or,

in response to mobility level information of the UE including restrictedmobility, then the access network node not performing handover to a celloutside of a specified geographical area for the UE; in which thespecified geographical area is a geographical area configured for the UEwhere the UE is allowed to move.

Preferably, performing measurement control for the UE includes:

in response to mobility level information of the UE including nomobility, or in response to mobility level information of the UEincluding no mobility at all, or in response to mobility levelinformation of the UE including no mobility and the UE only movingwithin the scope of the current cell, then the access network node notconfiguring a measurement for the UE; and/or,

in response to mobility level information of the UE including nomobility and the UE only moving within the scope of the current TA orcurrent base station, then the access network node only containing acell or frequency in the TA or base station where the UE is located in amessage for configuring the UE to perform a measurement; and/or,

in response to mobility level information of the UE including restrictedmobility, then the access network node only containing a cell orfrequency within the specified geographical area in the message forconfiguring the UE to perform a measurement; in which the specifiedgeographical area is a geographical area configured for the UE where theUE is allowed to move.

Preferably, performing the paging operation for the UE includes:

in response to mobility level information of the UE including nomobility, or in response to mobility level information of the UEincluding no mobility at all, or in response to mobility levelinformation of the UE including no mobility and the UE only movingwithin the scope of the current cell, then after the access network nodereceiving a paging message for the UE, the access network node onlypaging the UE within respective cells under an access point of the UE,or only paging the UE within a cell where the UE is located; and/or,

in response to mobility level information of the UE including nomobility, and the UE only moving within the scope of the current TA orcurrent base station, then after the access network node receiving apaging message for the UE, the access network node only paging the UEwithin cells of a TA or base station where the UE is located; and/or

in response to mobility level information of the UE including nomobility, and the UE only moving within the scope of the current TA orbase station, then in response to the access network node requiring tosend a paging message to other access network nodes, the access networknode sending the paging message to an access network node which controlsa cell within the specified geographical area;

in response to mobility level information of the UE including restrictedmobility, then after the access network node receiving a paging messagefor the UE, the access network node only paging the UE in a cell withinthe specified geographical area; and

in response to mobility level information of the UE including restrictedmobility, then when the access network node requiring to send a pagingmessage to other access network nodes, the access network node sendingthe paging message to an access network node which controls a cellwithin the specified geographical area; wherein the specifiedgeographical area is a geographical area configured for the UE where theUE is allowed to move.

Preferably, during an attachment procedure of the UE, the access networknode receives mobility level information of the UE.

Preferably, after the access network node receives mobility levelinformation of the UE, the method further includes: the access networknode receiving updated mobility level information of the UE, and theaccess network node using updated mobility level information of the UEto update saved mobility level information of the UE.

Preferably, updating mobility level information of the UE is triggeredby a handover procedure happening between different cells or differentaccess network nodes;

or, updating mobility level information of the UE is triggered by aservice demand or mobility demand of the UE;

or, updating mobility level information of the UE is triggered byinformation received by the core network node from a higher layer oroperator.

Preferably, the access network node receiving mobility level informationof the UE includes:

the access network node receiving mobility level information of the UEsent by a core network node or the UE;

and/or,

the access network node receiving updated mobility level information ofthe UE includes: the access network node receiving updated mobilitylevel information of the UE from the core network node or the UE.

An apparatus for controlling or paging a user equipment (UE), includes:a receiving unit and a controlling unit; in which

the receiving unit is configured to receive mobility level informationof the UE; and

the controlling unit is configured to perform handover control and/ormeasurement control and/or paging for the UE according to mobility levelinformation of the UE.

As is seen from the foregoing technical schemes, in the presentdisclosure, an access network node receives mobility level informationof a UE; and the access network node performs handover control, and/ormeasurement control, and/or paging for the UE according to mobilitylevel information of the UE. Through the foregoing schemes, when theaccess network node performs handover control, measurement control, andpaging for the UE, it performs according to mobility level informationof the UE, so that handover, measurement, and paging operations arelimited in a scope corresponding to a mobility level of the UE accordingto mobility characteristics of the UE, which reduces unnecessaryresource consumption, and improves overall system performance.

The present further provides a method for providing a new service basedan enhanced LTE base station and a corresponding device.

For this purpose, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides amethod for selecting a core network for a UE by an enhanced LTE basestation, comprising the following steps of:

establishing a radio resource control (RRC) connection to a UE;selecting a core network corresponding to the UE according to a presetcondition;

receiving a response message transmitted by the corresponding corenetwork; and

transmitting a RRC configuration message to the UE to configure orreconfigure a user plane for the UE.

Another embodiment of the present disclosure provides a method forestablishing a secondary base station for a UE by an enhanced LTE basestation, comprising the following steps of:

transmitting a secondary base station addition request message to asecondary base station with an X2 interface;

receiving a secondary base station addition response message transmittedby the secondary base station with the X2 interface, the secondary basestation addition response message carrying configuration information fora UE provided by the secondary base station;

transmitting, to the UE, a RRC message carrying configurationinformation for the UE provided by the secondary base station with theX2 interface;

receiving the RRC message transmitted by the UE after new configurationinformation is successfully configured; and

transmitting a response message to the secondary base station with theX2 interface.

Still another embodiment of the present disclosure provides a method forestablishing a horizontal interface between an enhanced LTE base stationand a neighboring base station, comprising the following steps of:

transmitting an X2 interface or non-X2 interface establishment requestmessage, the X2 interface or non-X2 interface establishment requestmessage containing an identifier of an enhanced LTE base station andinformation about cells in the enhanced LTE base station; and

receiving an X2 interface or non-X2 interface establishment responsemessage transmitted by a neighboring base station, the X2 interface ornon-X2 interface establishment response message containing an identifierof the neighboring base station and information about cells in theneighboring base station.

Yet another embodiment of the present disclosure provides a method forinforming a UE about how to configure protocol by an enhanced LTE basestation, comprising the following steps of:

transmitting, to a UE, a notification message that the access network ofthe UE can provide 5G features; and

receiving a RRC message transmitted by the UE, and acquiring anon-access stratum message carried by the RRC message so that the UEconfigures a protocol matched with the access network of the UE.

Compared with the prior art, the solutions of the present disclosurehave the following advantages:

1. the method for selecting a core network provided by the presentdisclosure can select a proper core network for a terminal;

2. the method for establishing a secondary base station provided by thepresent disclosure can realize coordination between an enhanced LTE basestation and a 5G base station;

3. by the method for establishing a horizontal interface provided by thepresent disclosure, the establishment of a horizontal interface betweenan enhanced LTE base station and another neighboring base station isrealized; and

4. by the method for informing a terminal-configured protocol providedby the present disclosure, a terminal can use a proper protocol forcommunication.

Advantageous Effects of Invention

Based on the functions realized by the methods, a 5G terminal can usethe 5G features to increase the amount of user data and the utilizationrate of network frequency.

Additional aspects and advantages of the present disclosure will bepartially appreciated and become apparent from the description below, orwill be well learned from the practices of the present disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a SAE system architecture;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of an initial overall architecture of 5G;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a basic flow of a method forcontrolling or paging a UE according to the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of Embodiment 1 of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of Embodiment 2 of the present disclosure;

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of Embodiment 3 of the present disclosure;

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of Embodiment 4 of the present disclosure;

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of a basic structure of an apparatus forcontrolling or paging a UE according to the present disclosure;

FIG. 9 is an architecture diagram of an enhanced LTE base stationaccording to the present disclosure;

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of a process of selecting a core networkfor a UE according to the present disclosure;

FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram of a process of establishing a secondarybase station for a UE based on an X2 interface according to the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram of a process of establishing an X2horizontal interface between an enhanced LTE base station and aneighboring base station according to the present disclosure;

FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram of a process of informing a UE ofconfiguring a corresponding protocol according to the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram of a process of establishing an Xxhorizontal interface between an enhanced LTE base station and aneighboring base station according to the present disclosure;

FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram of a process of establishing a secondarybase station for a UE based on an Xx interface according to the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 16 is a schematic structure diagram of a device for selecting acore network for a UE by an enhanced LTE base station according to anembodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 17 is a schematic structure diagram of a device for establishing asecondary base station for a UE by an enhanced LTE base stationaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 18 is a schematic structure diagram of a device for establishing ahorizontal interface between an enhanced LTE base station and aneighboring base station according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure; and

FIG. 19 is a schematic structure diagram of a device for informing a UEabout how to configure protocol by an enhanced LTE base stationaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

MODE FOR THE INVENTION

To make the objects, technical means and advantages of the presentdisclosure more clear, the present disclosure will be furtherillustrated in combination with the attached drawings.

In traditional next generation of communication systems, various kindsof measurement control, handover, and paging operations for UEs ofdifferent mobility levels are processed in the same way. However, ifmobility levels of UEs are different, corresponding mobility scopes ofthe UEs are different, and measurement, handover, and paging operationsperformed in a scope, to which a UE will not move, are actually uselessbut cost a lot of system resources. Besides of these, the UE may alsoperform some unnecessary operations and consume unnecessary power. Basedon these, the basic idea of the present disclosure is that whenmeasurement control, handover, and paging operations for a UE areperformed, they are performed according to a mobility level of the UE,and the measurement control, handover, and paging operations arerestricted to a mobility scope corresponding to the mobility level.

More specifically, in the traditional art, the NextGen (R)AN does notknow mobility levels of UEs, and thus cannot perform different controloperations for UEs of different mobility levels. Based on the aboveanalysis, the present disclosure provides a method for controlling orpaging a UE, as described in FIG. 3. The method includes the followingsteps.

In step 301, an access network node receives mobility level informationof a UE.

Mobility level information of the UE may include information regardingwhether the UE is no mobility, restricted mobility, or unrestrictedmobility. These three types of information correspondingly indicate thatthe UE is in three different mobility levels A, B, and C.

When the UE is in a mobility level of no mobility (i.e., mobility levelA), the mobility level may represent only one mobility level, or may befurther divided into a plurality of levels (e.g., mobility levels A1 andA2). Specifically, when the mobility level A can be further divided intoa plurality of levels, mobility level information of the UE may furtherinclude information of no mobility at all or a unit of no mobility ofthe UE (e.g., a cell or a TA or a base station, that is, the UE movesonly within a scope of the cell, the TA, or the base station), todistinguish the different levels under the mobility level A. If the unitof no mobility of the UE is TA (i.e., the UE moves only within a scopeof a current TA), then mobility level information of the UE alsocontains information regarding which TA, outside of which the UE doesnot move, i.e., a TA identifier of the TA where the UE is located. Ifthe unit of no mobility of the UE is cell (i.e., the UE moves onlywithin a scope of a current cell), then information of the mobilitylevel of the UE also contains information regarding which cell, outsideof which the UE does not move, i.e., a cell identifier of the cell wherethe UE is located. If the unit of no mobility of the UE is base station(i.e., the UE moves only within a scope of a current base station), thenmobility level information of the UE indicates that the UE does not moveoutside of the scope of the current base station. No mobility at allherein may be understood as the UE absolutely does not move, or the UEdoes not move in a certain period.

When the UE is in a mobility level of restricted mobility (i.e.,mobility level B), mobility level information may include informationregarding geographical areas where the UE can move, i.e., includingidentifiers of geographical areas where the UE is allowed to move. Thegeographical areas may be base stations or TAs.

The access network node (e.g., NextGen (R)AN) may determine whether theUE moves and may determine a corresponding mobility scope by mobilitylevel information of the UE described above.

In addition, it is to be specified that when the mobility level A isdivided into a plurality of levels, the meaning of no mobility may meanthat the UE does not move from the point of view of the access networknode. That is, the UE does not move relatively to the current basestation. Therefore, for no mobility in the mobility level, the mobilityscope of the UE may correspond to a variety of situations where the UEabsolutely does not move, the UE does not move outside of the scope of acell, the UE does not move outside of the scope of a TA, and the UE doesnot move outside of the scope of a base station. The variety ofsituations may not all be included, or only a part of them are included,e.g., the UE does not move outside of the scope of a cell, TA or basestation. Accordingly, for the mobility level B, an identifier of ageographical area where the UE is allowed to move included in mobilitylevel information corresponding to the mobility level B is: identifiersof all TAs where the UE is allowed to move, or an indication indicatingallowing the UE moves within the scope of the current base station.

When the mobility level A represents only one mobility level (e.g., nomobility at all), for the mobility level B, an identifier of ageographical area where the UE is allowed to move included in mobilitylevel information corresponding to the mobility level B is: anidentifier of a base station or TA.

Preferably, the access network node maintains received mobility levelinformation of the UE.

Mobility level information of the UE received by the access network nodemay be transmitted from the core network node (e.g., Next Gen Core inthe 5G system) or the UE.

In step 302, the access network node performs handover control, and/ormeasurement control, and/or paging for the UE according to mobilitylevel information of the UE.

For UEs of different mobility levels, when corresponding handovercontrol, and/or measurement control, and/or paging is/are performed,corresponding handover, measurement and paging may be restricted to amobility scope corresponding to the mobility level of the UE.

Specifically, based on the plurality of situations of mobility levelinformation listed in step 301, the following schemes may be used toperform handover control, and/or measurement control, and/or paging.When the mobility level is no mobility, the mobility level maycorrespond to one mobility level, or may be further divided into aplurality of mobility levels (for example, a unit of no mobility iscell, TA, or base station).

1. For a UE that does not move (only corresponding to one mobilitylevel), or for a UE that does not move at all, or for a UE that does notmove and a unit of no mobility thereof is cell (i.e., the UE moves onlywithin the scope of a current cell): an access network node (e.g., aNext Gen (R)AN of a 5G system) does not need to configure a measurementfor the UE, which can greatly reduce measurement control andtransmission of measurement reports through an air interface and saveradio resources, and the UE does not need to perform an inter-cell orinter-frequency radio measurement and report a measurement to avoidunnecessary power consumption; the access network node does not need toinitiate a handover operation for the UE; and if the access network nodereceives a paging message for a corresponding UE from another networknode, then the access network node only pages the UE within respectivecells of the access network node, or within a cell where the UE islocated.

2. For a UE that does not move and a unit of no mobility thereof is TAor base station (i.e., the UE only moves within the scope of a currentTA or current base station): an access network node configures ameasurement message for the UE to only include cells or frequencies of aTA or base station where the UE is located; when the access network nodedecides to trigger a handover for the UE, the access network node doesnot initiate handover of the UE to a TA or base station where the UEcannot located, that is, the access network node does not initiatehandover-of the UE to other TAs or base stations other than the TA orbase station where the UE is located; when the access network nodereceives a paging message for the UE, the access network node only sendsa paging message in cells of the TA or base station where the UE islocated; and when the access network node needs to send a paging messageto another access network node, the access network node sends a pagingmessage to an access network node that controls cells in a specifiedgeographical area. Here, the specified geographical area refers to ageographical area, in which a UE is configured to be allowed to move bythe network.

3. For a UE that has restricted mobility: an access network nodeconfigures a measurement message for the UE to only include cells orfrequencies of a specified geographical area configured for the UE bythe network; when the access network node decides to trigger a handover,the access network node does not initiate handover of the UE to a cellof a geographical area where the UE cannot located, that is, the accessnetwork node does not initiate handover of the UE to other cells outsideof the specified geographical area; when the access network nodereceives a paging message for the UE, the access network node only sendsa paging message in cells within the specified geographical area; andwhen the access network node needs to send a paging message to anotheraccess network node, the access network node sends a paging message toan access network node that controls cells in the specified geographicalarea. Here, the specified geographical area refers to a geographicalarea, in which a UE is configured by the network to be allowed to move.

For unrestricted mobility, the access network node does not need toconsider the above-mentioned geographical area restrictions whenconfiguring a UE's measurement, controlling the UE′ handover, ortransmitting a paging message.

At this point, the description of the method for controlling and paginga UE according to the present disclosure is completed. The above methodmay be used in LTE, 5G and later communication systems. Through thismethod, it is possible to prevent an access network node fromunnecessarily configuring measurements for a UE, triggering anunnecessary handover operation, avoiding paging in some cells and savingair interface resources. Meanwhile, the method can avoid unnecessarymeasurements and measurement reports of the UE, and avoid powerconsumption.

Detailed implementation of the method of the present application will beillustrated by several embodiments in the following. For descriptionpurpose, the method of the present disclosure will be described from anaspect of interactions of multiple physical entities. In the followingembodiments, the 5G system is used as an example. Assume that the accessnetwork node is a Next Gen (R)AN, the core network node is a Next GenCore, and mobility level information of the UE is sent to the Next Gen(R)AN. Of course, detailed implementation in practice is not limitedhereto. In the above method, the NextGen Core may transmit mobilitylevel information to the NextGen (R)AN through a UE attachment process,which will be described in detail by Embodiment 1.

Embodiment 1 of the present disclosure which supports handover andpaging is as described in FIG. 4. The method includes the followingsteps:

Step 401, a UE sends an attachment request message to a 5G core networkcontrol plane function entity via a Next Gen (R)AN. The attachmentrequest message includes capability information of the UE, mobilitydemand information of the UE, service demand information of the UE,and/or the location information of the UE.

As mentioned earlier, a NextGen Core includes a 5G core network controlplane function entity and a user plane function entity. In this process,it is a 5G core network control plane function entity that performsinteractions between the UE and the Next Gen(R)AN.

Step 402, the 5G core network control plane function entity sends asubscription authorization request message to a subscription library.

Step 403, the subscription library sends a subscription authorizationresponse message to the 5G core network control plane function entity.The subscription authorization response message sent by the subscriptionlibrary to the 5G core network control plane function entity containssubscription information that can determine a mobility level of the UE.

Step 404, the 5G core network control plane function entity determines amobility level of UE. The 5G core network control plane function entitydetermines the mobility level of the UE according to the informationobtained from the UE, operator policy information and/or usersubscription information. Information obtained from the UE contains oneor more pieces of information obtained from the UE in step 401.

Step 405, the 5G core network control plane function entity sends anon-access stratum attachment response message to the Next Gen(R)AN viaa NG2 message.

Here, NG2 refers to an interface between the 5G core network controlplane function entity and the Next Gen(R)AN. Even if the interface mayuse a different name in the future, it will not affect the main contentof the present disclosure. The NG2 message contains mobility levelinformation of the UE and the non-access stratum attachment responsemessage. Mobility level information of the UE in this step is the sameas that in step 301, and will not be described here. The 5G core networkcontrol plane function entity may also send mobility level informationof the UE and the attachment response message to the Next Gen(R)AN viadifferent NG2 messages. The Next Gen(R)AN saves the received mobilitylevel information of the UE. The 5G core network control plane functionentity sends mobility level information of the UE to the UE by theattachment response message. The Next Gen(R)AN does not resolve theattachment response message, but forwards the attachment responsemessage directly. Mobility level information of the UE is the same asthat in step 301, and will not be described here.

How the Next Gen(R)AN uses saved mobility level information of the UE isthe same as that in step 302, and will not be described here.

The Next Gen(R)AN sends the attachment response message to the UE via anair interface message.

For a mobility level of no mobility, the UE does not need to perform amobility-based area update procedure. After the attachment procedure iscompleted, the UE is permanently connected to the network unless thenetwork updates the mobility level of the UE or the UE successfullyperforms an updated attachment procedure.

For a UE of restricted mobility, the behavior of the UE is similar tothat of a UE of no mobility. A difference is that after the attachmentprocedure, services can be provided within a location area provided tothe UE. Depending on information of an area configured to the UE, the UEmay report area update.

At this point, the description of Embodiment 1 of the present disclosureis completed. With this method, it is possible to prevent the NextGen(R)AN from configuring unnecessary measurements of UEs, triggeringunnecessary handover, and paging in some cells, and thus saves airinterface resources, avoids unnecessary measurements and measurementreports of the UEs, and avoids power consumption.

In addition, the mobility level information of a UE can be updated. Itis updated by the core network node or UE as required, and then sent tothe access network node. This case will be described in the following byseveral embodiments. A communication system, scenarios, and nodesassumed in the following embodiments are the same as those inEmbodiment 1. In Embodiment 2, a core network node (specifically, aNextGen Core in a 5G system) triggers modification to a mobility level,based on information sent from an upper layer or an operator.

Embodiment 2 of the present disclosure that supports handover and pagingis described in FIG. 5. The method includes the steps of:

Step 502, a 5G core network control plane function entity decides tomodify a mobility level of a UE.

An operator or a network may modify a mobility level assigned to the UE.The 5G core network control plane function entity decides to modify themobility level of the UE according to a change of subscriptioninformation and the operator's policy. In other words, the NextGen Coremay decide to modify mobility level information of the UE based oninformation sent from the higher layer or the operator.

Step 503, the 5G core network control plane function entity sends a NG2message which contains updated mobility level information of the UE to aNext Gen(R)AN. Mobility level information of the UE is the same as thatin step 301, and will not be described here. The Next Gen(R)AN performsupdate according to received mobility level information of the UE.

How the Next Gen(R)AN uses updated mobility level information of the UEis the same as that in step 302, and will not be described here.

At this point, the description of Embodiment 2 of the present disclosureis completed. By this method, mobility level information of the UE savedby the Next Gen(R)AN can be updated to prevent the Next Gen(R)AN fromconfiguring unnecessary measurements of UEs, triggering unnecessaryhandover, and paging in some cells, and thus saves air interfaceresources, avoids unnecessary measurements and measurement reports ofthe UEs, and avoids power consumption.

In Embodiment 3, update of a mobility level is triggered by a service ora mobility demand of a UE. Update of the mobility level is carried outby a NextGen Core.

Embodiment 3 of the present disclosure that supports handover and pagingis described in FIG. 6. The method includes the steps of:

Step 601, a UE sends a non-access stratum message to a 5G core networkcontrol plane function entity via a Next Gen(R)AN.

The non-access stratum message includes a message for UE mobilitymanagement or session management, such as a TAU request, a servicerequest, a packet data unit (PDU) session request, or an attach request.The non-access stratum message includes capability information of theUE, mobility demand information of the UE, service demand information ofthe UE, and/or the location information of the UE. The UE may provideadditional service demands that need the network to support through thenon-access stratum message. The UE may provide a mobility demand to thenetwork through the non-access stratum message. The non-access stratummessage may also contain capability information of the UE.

Step 602, the 5G core network control plane function entity decides tomodify a mobility level of the UE.

An operator or a network may modify a mobility level assigned to the UE.

The 5G core network control plane function entity decides to modify themobility level of the UE according to a change of subscriptioninformation, the operator's policy, and/or information obtained from theUE. Information obtained from the UE contains one or more pieces ofinformation obtained from the UE in step 601.

Step 603, the 5G core network control plane function entity sends anon-access stratum message to Next Gen(R)AN through a NG2 message.

The non-access stratum message may be a service response, an attachresponse, or the like. NG2 refers to an interface between the 5G corenetwork control plane function entity and the Next Gen(R)AN interface.Even if the interface will use a different name in the future, it willnot affect the main content of the present disclosure. The NG2 messagecontains updated mobility level information of the UE. Mobility levelinformation of the UE is the same as that in step 301, and will not bedescribed here. The 5G core network control plane function entity mayalso send mobility level information of the UE and the non-accessstratum message to the Next Gen(R)AN via different NG2 messages. TheNext Gen(R)AN performs update according to received mobility levelinformation of the UE.

How the Next Gen(R)AN uses updated mobility level information of the UEis the same as that in step 302, and will not be described here.

The Next Gen(R)AN sends a non-access stratum message to the UE via anair interface message.

At this point, the description of Embodiment 3 of the present disclosureis completed. By this method, mobility level information of the UE savedby the Next Gen(R)AN can be updated to prevent the Next Gen(R)AN fromconfiguring unnecessary measurements of UEs, triggering unnecessaryhandover, and paging in some cells, and thus saves air interfaceresources, avoids unnecessary measurements and measurement reports ofthe UEs, and avoids power consumption.

In Embodiment 4, update to a mobility level by the NextGen Core istriggered by the UE handover between different cells or differentNextGen(R)AN entities.

Embodiment 4 of the present disclosure that supports handover and pagingis described in FIG. 7. The present embodiment describes a method forupdating a mobility level of a UE at a Next Gen(R)AN during a handoverprocedure. Detailed flows which are irrelevant to the present disclosureare omitted here. The method includes the steps of:

Step 701, a Next Gen(R)AN sends a switching request message to a 5G corenetwork control plane function entity. The switching request message maybe a handover required or a path switch request or a handovernotification. The function of the switching request message is to informthe 5G core network control plane function entity that a UE hasperformed handover between different cells or different Next Gen(R)ANentities. The switching request message contains capability informationof the UE, and/or location information of the UE.

Step 702, the 5G core network control plane function entity decides tomodify a mobility level of a UE.

An operator or a network may modify a mobility level assigned to the UE.

The 5G core network control plane function entity decides to modify themobility level of the UE according to a change of subscriptioninformation, the operator's policy, and/or information obtained from theUE or Next Gen(R)AN. Information obtained from the UE contains one ormultiple information in step 401 or step 601. Information obtained fromNext Gen(R)AN contains information of the UE obtained from the NextGen(R)AN in step 701.

Step 703, the 5G core network control plane function entity sendsmobility level information of the UE to the Next Gen(R)AN.

The message may be a handover request message, a path switch requestacknowledgment message, a UE context modification message, etc. The NG2message contains updated mobility level information of the UE. Mobilitylevel information of the UE is the same as that in step 301. The NextGen(R)AN performs update according to received mobility levelinformation of the UE.

How the Next Gen(R)AN uses updated mobility level information of the UEis the same as that in step 302, and will not be described here.

At this point, the description of Embodiment 4 of the present disclosureis completed. By this method, mobility level information of the UE savedby the Next Gen(R)AN can be updated during a handover procedure, whichprevents the Next Gen(R)AN from configuring unnecessary measurements ofUEs, triggering unnecessary handover, and paging in some cells, and thussaves air interface resources, avoids unnecessary measurements andmeasurement reports of the UEs, and avoids power consumption.

The above is detailed implementation of the methods for controlling andpaging a UE in the present disclosure. The present disclosure furtherprovides an apparatus for controlling or paging a UE to carry out theforgoing methods. The apparatus may be located in a node (e.g., aNextGen(R)AN of a 5G system). As shown in FIG. 8, a basic structure ofthe apparatus includes a receiving unit and a control unit.

The receiving unit is configured to receive mobility level informationof a UE. The controlling unit is configured to perform handover controland/or measurement control and/or paging for the UE according tomobility level information of the UE.

A Long Term Evolution (LTE) base station can be connected, after beingenhanced, to a 5G core network. Such an LTE base station capable ofbeing connected to the core network is called an enhanced LTE basestation. An ordinary LTE base station can be connected to an LTE corenetwork node only, while an enhanced LTE base station can be connectedto either an LTE core network node or a 5G core network node or theboth. The LTE core network is called an Evolved Packet Core (EPC)network, and the 5G core network is called a New Generation Core (NGC)network. In the following description, the LTE base station refers to anordinary base station which can be connected to an LTE core networkonly, and the enhanced LTE base station refers to an LTE base stationwhich can be connected to the core network. The naming of the enhancedLTE base station is not limited thereto. In the present invention, anLTE base station named as an enhanced LTE base station particularlyrefers to an LTE base station which can be connected to a 5G corenetwork, but this LTE base station still belongs to the radio accesstechnology of the LTE and still adopts the LTE air interface technologyfor an air interface.

Embodiment 5

This embodiment of the present invention provides a method for selectinga core network for a UE by an enhanced LTE base station, comprising thefollowing steps of:

establishing a RRC connection to a UE;

selecting a core network corresponding to the UE according to a presetcondition;

receiving a response message transmitted by the corresponding corenetwork; and

transmitting a RRC configuration message to the UE to configure orreconfigure a user plane for the UE.

When the access network is an enhanced LTE base station, a terminal withthe LTE access capability can access to this base station, and aterminal with the 5G capability can also access to this base station.The enhanced LTE base station selects a core network for the terminal.As shown in FIG. 9, the enhanced LTE base station is connected to theEPC and the NGC. The principle of selecting a core network by theenhanced LTE base station can be one of the following principles.

1) A corresponding core network is selected according to the capabilityof the UE. The enhanced LTE base station knows, from a RRC (RRC) (i.e.,a RRC message) transmitted by the terminal, the capability of theterminal, for example, the LTE capability or the 5G capability. The basestation selects a core network for the terminal according to thecapability of the terminal. If the terminal has the LTE capability, thebase station selects the EPC as the core network for the terminal;however, if the terminal has the 5G capability, the base station selectsthe NGC as the core network for the terminal.

2) A core network is selected according to the capability of the UE andin combination with other information. The other information comprises,for example, load information of the core network, load information ofthe access network, strategy information preconfigured by the operator,or more. For a terminal with the LTE capability, the enhanced LTE basestation can select only an LTE core network for the terminal; however,for a terminal with the 5G capability, the enhanced LTE base station canselect an LTE core network or a core network for the terminal.

Specifically, FIG. 10 depicts a process of selecting a core network fora UE.

1001: An RRC connection is established between a UE and an enhanced LTEbase station. The capability of the UE is carried in an RRC messagetransmitted to the base station by the UE. The capability of the UEindicates whether the UE can access to the LTE, or whether the UE canaccess to the 5G, or whether the UE can access to either the 5G or theLTE.

1002: The enhanced LTE base station selects a corresponding core networkaccording to the capability of the UE. In accordance with the principledescribed above, for example, a corresponding core network is selectedaccording to the capability of the UE, or a core network is selectedaccording to the capability of the UE and with reference to otherinformation. After the core network is selected, the enhanced LTE basestation transmits a message to the core network. The message can carryinformation about the UE or about a non-access stratum.

1003: The core network transmits a response message to the enhanced LTEbase station. The core network authenticates the UE, allocates a userplane to the UE, and transmits a response message to the enhanced LTEbase station.

1004: The enhanced LTE base station transmits an RRC configurationmessage to the UE. The enhanced LTE base station configures orreconfigures a user plane for the UE.

Embodiment 6

A horizontal interface is to be established between an enhanced LTE basestation and a neighboring base station. The type of the establishedinterface is different according to different types of neighboring basestations. There may be three types of neighboring base stations.

If the neighboring base station is an ordinary LTE base station, an X2interface is established between the enhanced LTE base station and theLTE base station. The X2 interface is a present horizontal interfacebetween an LTE base station and another LTE base station.

If the neighboring base station is an enhanced LTE base station, inorder to support both LTE users and 5G users, one method is to establishtwo horizontal interfaces, one of which is an X2 interface which hasbeen defined at present. This interface can be enhanced according to newfeatures, and this interface can transmit information for LTE users. Theother interface is a new horizontal interface defined in 5G, called Xninterface. The Xn interface is a new horizontal interface defined forthe new 5G features, and used for transmitting a signaling for 5G users.This interface cannot be used for transmitting a signaling for LTEusers, because some features of the LTE are quite different from thoseof the 5G. An interface defined for 5G features is unable to support thetransmission of information by LTE users. Another method is to establishone horizontal interface. This interface can transmit both a signalingfor LTE users and a signaling for 5G users.

If the neighboring base station is a 5G base station, the horizontalinterface between the enhanced LTE base station and the 5G base stationtransmits only the signaling for 5G users. Therefore, the horizontalinterface is a new horizontal interface Xn defined for 5G. But thishorizontal interface can also be other interfaces, for example, an Xxinterface as described in the following embodiments. By taking an X2interface as example, this embodiment of the present invention providesa method for establishing a secondary base station for a UE by anenhanced LTE base station, comprising the following steps of:

transmitting a secondary base station addition request message to asecondary base station with an X2 interface;

receiving a secondary base station addition response message transmittedby the secondary base station with the X2 interface, where, thesecondary base station addition response message carrying configurationinformation for a UE provided by the secondary base station;

transmitting, to the UE, a RRC message carrying configurationinformation for the UE provided by the secondary base station with theX2 interface;

receiving the RRC message transmitted by the UE after new configurationinformation is successfully configured; and

transmitting a response message to the secondary base station with theX2 interface.

Further, during establishment of a secondary base station for the UE,when a serving base station transmits a message to establish a secondarybearer, the transmitted secondary cell establishment or modificationmessage is different according to different secondary base stations.FIG. 11 depicts a process of establishing a secondary base station for aUE based on an X2 interface.

Step 1101: A primary base station transmits a secondary base stationaddition request message to a secondary base station.

The primary base station is an enhanced LTE base station. The primarybase station decides, according to a measurement report for the UE orthe measurement of uplink signals of the UE, to establish a secondarybased station for the UE, and transmits the data from the UE by asecondary bearer. If the secondary base station is an ordinary LTE basestation, the primary base station transmits the secondary base stationaddition request message.

If the secondary base station is an enhanced LTE base station, twohorizontal interfaces, i.e., X2 and Xn, are established between theprimary base station and the secondary base station, and the primarybase station selects a corresponding horizontal interface according tothe capability of the UE. For example, if the UE is an LTE terminal, theprimary base station selects the X2 interface and transmits a handoverrequest message. If the UE is a 5G terminal, the primary base stationselects the Xn to transmit the secondary base station addition requestmessage. Or, the primary base station selects, according to the corenetwork selected for the UE, a horizontal interface for transmittingmessages. For example, if the primary base station selects the EPC forthe UE, there is an Si interface between the primary base station andthe EPC, and the primary base station selects the X2 to transmitmessages from the UE. If the primary base station selects the NGC forthe UE, there is an NG interface between the primary base station andthe NGC, and the primary base station selects the Xn to transmitmessages from the UE. Subsequently, the primary base station transmitsthe secondary base station addition request to the secondary basestation.

If the secondary base station is an enhanced LTE base station, ahorizontal interface is established between the primary base station andthe secondary base station, and the primary base station transmits thesecondary base station addition request message to the secondary basestation. The secondary base station is also connected to two corenetworks, i.e., EPC and NGC. A user plane protocol stack also containsan LTE user plane protocol stack and a 5G user plane protocol stack. Thesecondary base station needs to select a protocol structure to serveusers. The selected protocol structure should be consistent with theselection of the primary base station, or should refer to the corenetwork selected by the primary base station. Since the primary basestation has selected and established a user plane for the UE and hasselected a core network node, the primary base station needs to informthe secondary base station of which protocol is used to establish asecondary bearer for the UE. The secondary base station addition requestmessage contains the type of the core network selected for the UE by theprimary base station, or the type of a backhaul selected for the UE bythe primary base station, or indication information indicating that thesecondary base station needs to use which protocol stack to serve theUE, or the capability information of the UE. The secondary base stationestablishes a secondary bearer, i.e., selects a corresponding user planeprotocol stack, according to the capability information of the UE.

Step 1102: The secondary base station transmits a secondary base stationaddition response message to the primary base station. This messagecontains configuration information for the UE provided by the secondarybase station.

Step 1103: The primary base station transmits an RRC message to the UE.This message carries configuration information for the UE provided bythe secondary base station.

Step 1104: The UE transmits the RRC message to the primary base station.After successfully configuring new configuration information, the UEtransmits a response message to the primary base station.

Step 1105: The primary base station transmits a response message to thesecondary base station.

Step 1106: If necessary, the primary base station transmits a message toa core network to configure a user plane from the core network to thesecondary base station.

Step 1107: The core network transmits a response message to the primarybase station.

Embodiment 7

Further, when the interface is an interface other than the X2 interface,for example, the connection between an enhanced LTE base station (or anLTE base station) and a 5G base station is an Xx interface. The Xxinterface is different from the previous X2 interface. The existing X2interface is an interface connecting two eNBs, and base stations on theopposite sides belong to the LTE and are in a same access network mode.However, one of two base stations connected by the Xx interface belongsto the LTE while the other one belongs to the 5G, and the two basestations are in different access network modes. As a result, the processat the Xx is different from the process at the existing X2. The Xxinterface can be a same type of interface as the interface (Xn) between5G base stations, or an enhanced interface of the existing X2 interface,or a new interface defined between an LTE base station and a 5G basestation.

An enhanced LTE base station (or an LTE base station) and a 5G basestation can be configured to be in dual connectivity, with one basestation being a primary base station while the other base station beinga secondary base station. In a case, the primary base station is anenhanced LTE base station (or an LTE base station), the secondary basestation is a 5G base station, the enhanced LTE base station is connectedto the NGC, and the LTE base station is connected to the EPC. In anothercase, the primary base station is a 5G base station, the secondary basestation is an enhanced LTE base station, and the 5G base station isconnected to the NGC. FIG. 12 depicts a process of establishing asecondary base station for a UE based on an Xx interface.

Step 1201: A primary base station transmits a secondary base stationaddition request message to a secondary base station.

The current secondary base station request message of the X2 interfacecontains a container from the primary base station to the secondary basestation, and the container contains RRC configuration information. Afterthe secondary base station receives the secondary base station additionrequest message, a bearer on the secondary base station is configuredaccording to the RRC configuration information transmitted on theprimary base station. At the Xx interface, since the primary basestation (or the secondary base station) can be either an LTE basestation or a 5G base station, two RRC containers from the primary basestation to the secondary base station need to be defined in thesecondary base station addition request message. One RRC container is acontainer in a 5G RRC format, while the other RRC container is acontainer in an LTE RRC format.

When transmitting this message, the primary base station can select aproper RRC container according to the different types of the primarybase stations in a destination-adapting to-source manner. For example,if the primary base station is a 5G base station, the primary basestation selects the container in the 5G RRC format. For example, if theprimary base station is an LTE base station, the primary base stationselects the container in the LTE RRC format.

Or, the primary base station selects a proper RRC container according tothe type of the secondary base station in a source-adaptingto-destination manner. For example, if the secondary base station is a5G base station, the primary base station selects the container in the5G RRC format. For example, if the secondary base station is an LTE basestation, the primary base station selects the container in the LTE RRCformat.

Step 1202: The secondary base station transmits a secondary base stationaddition response message to the primary base station.

The current secondary base station addition response message of the X2contains a container from the secondary base station to the primary basestation, and the container carriers the RRC message to be transmitted tothe UE. At the Xx interface, two RRC containers of different types alsoneed to be defined in the secondary base station addition responsemessage. One RRC container is a container in a 5G RRC format, while theother RRC container is a container in an LTE RRC format. Unlike the step1201, the RRC container transmitted by the secondary base station is RRCconfiguration information to be transmitted to the UE and is not to beparsed by the primary base station. Therefore, instead of adapting tothe type of the primary base station, the UE is configured according tothe type of the secondary base station. For example, if the secondarybase station is a 5G base station, the container in the 5G RRC format iscontained in the response message; however, if the secondary basestation is an LTE base station, the container in the LTE RRC format iscontained in the response message.

Step 1203: The primary base station transmits an RRC message to the UE.This message carries configuration information for the UE provided bythe secondary base station.

Step 1204: The UE transmits the RRC message to the primary base station.After successfully configuring new configuration information, the UEtransmits a response message to the primary base station.

Step 1205: The primary base station transmits a response message to thesecondary base station.

Step 1206: If necessary, the primary base station transmits a message toa core network to configure a user plane from the core network to thesecondary base station.

Step 1207: The core network transmits a response message to the primarybase station.

Embodiment 8

The above method is applicable to an Xx handover process. An Xx handoverrequest message contains RRC context information. At present, thisinformation contains a handover preparation message defined by an LTERRC protocol layer. In the Xx handover request, RRC context informationof two formats needs to be defined. One format is RRC contextinformation defined by an LTE RRC protocol layer, while the other formatis RRC context information defined by a 5G RRC protocol layer. Whentransmitting this message, a source base station can select proper RRCcontext information according to the different types of the source basestations in a destination-to-source manner. For example, if the sourcebase station is a 5G base station, the RRC context information in the 5Gformat is selected. For example, if the source base station is an LTEbase station, the RRC context information in the LTE format is selected.

Or, the source base station selects a proper RRC transparent containeraccording to the different types of destination base stations in asource-adapting to-destination manner. For example, if the destinationbase station is a 5G base station, the RRC context information in the 5Gformat is selected. For example, if the destination base station is anLTE base station, the RRC context information in the LTE format isselected.

An Xx handover response message contains an RRC transparent containerfrom the destination base station to the source base station, and thetransparent container carriers a handover command message to betransmitted to a UE. The RRC transparent container is defined in twoformats. One format is a handover command defined by the LTE RRCprotocol layer, while the other format is a handover command defined bythe 5G RRC protocol layer. The destination base station selects an RRCtransparent container in a corresponding format according to the owntype of the destination base station. For example, if the destinationbase station is an enhanced LTE base station, the RRC transparentcontainer defined by the LTE RRC protocol is contained; however, if thedestination base station is a 5G base station, the RRC transparentcontainer defined by the 5G RRC protocol is contained.

Embodiment 9

If two horizontal interfaces are to be established between the enhancedLTE base stations, it is necessary to study how to establish the twohorizontal interfaces. At present, there is only one horizontalinterface between the two nodes. In some cases, for example, if the twonodes are enhanced LTE base stations, it is required to establish twohorizontal interfaces between the two nodes. If it is required toestablish two horizontal interfaces, an enhanced LTE base station needsto know in advance that a neighboring base station is an enhanced LTEbase station, so that the two interfaces can be established with thisbase station.

Based on this, this embodiment of the present invention provides amethod for establishing a horizontal interface between an enhanced LTEbase station and a neighboring base station, comprising the followingsteps of:

transmitting an X2 interface or non-X2 interface establishment requestmessage, the X2 interface or non-X2 interface establishment requestmessage containing an identifier of an enhanced LTE base station andinformation about cells in the enhanced LTE base station; and

receiving an X2 interface or non-X2 interface establishment responsemessage transmitted by a neighboring base station, the X2 interface ornon-X2 interface establishment response message containing an identifierof the neighboring base station and information about cells in theneighboring base station.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 13, if it is assumed that the twohorizontal interfaces are X2 and Xn, the method for establishinghorizontal interfaces can be one of the following methods.

Method 1: The enhanced LTE base station pre-configures the type of theneighboring base station. The type of the neighboring base station ispreconfigured by operation maintenance. The type of the neighboring basestation can be an LTE base station, an enhanced LTE base station or a 5Gbase station. The type of the base station can also be decided by theclassification of some frequencies or the classification of physicallayer identification codes. According to the type of the base station, acorresponding horizontal interface is established between the enhancedLTE base station and the neighboring base station.

Or according to the method described in FIG. 15, access network informsa terminal that an access network can provide new 5G features, i.e. anaccess network which is able to be connected to a 5G core network, Forexample, the air interface for eLTE eNB is LTE access, from airinterface can not deduce whether the eLTE is connecting to 5GC, andusing 5G service accordingly. So eLTE eNB broadcasts a notification that5G feature is supported or not, that is whether eLTE eNB is connectingto 5G core network. When performing automatic neighboring relationshipprocedure, the UE receives the broadcasting information from theneighboring eNB and report such notification, i.e. that eNB supporting5G feature, to the serving eNB. the serving eNB is the eNB1 in thisEmbodiment, according to the measurement report, the eNB1 knows theneighboring eNB is a eLTE eNB, if the eNB1 is also a eLTE eNB, the eNB 1should establish both X2 and Xn.

Step 1301: A base station 1 transmits an X2 establishment requestmessage, the X2 establishment request message containing an identifierof the base station and information about cells of the base station.

Step 1302: A base station 2 transmits an X2 establishment responsemessage. The X2 establishment response message contains an identifier ofthe base station and information about cells of the base station.

Step 1303: The base station 1 transmits an Xn establishment requestmessage. According to the configuration information, the base station 1initiates an Xn establishment process. This process and the process inthe step 1301 can be combined into one process. The Xn establishmentresponse message contains the identifier of the base station andinformation about cells of the base station. The information about cellsof the base station contains the frequency of the cells.

Step 1304: The base station 2 transmits an Xn establishment responsemessage. The step 1304 and the step 1302 can be combined into oneprocess. The Xn establishment response message contains the identifierof the base station and information about cells of the base station. Theinformation about cells of the base station contains the frequency ofthe cells.

Method 2: When an enhanced LTE base station (i.e., a base station 1)transmits an X2 interface establishment request message, the basestation 1 establishes the X2 interface normally. The X2 interfaceestablishment request message carries an indication for indicatingwhether the base station has the capability of establishing an Xninterface. When a base station 2 transmits an X2 interface establishmentresponse message, the X2 interface establishment response message canalso carry indication information for indicating whether the basestation has the capability of establishing an Xn interface. If both thebase station 1 and the base station 2 have the capability ofestablishing an Xn interface, the base station 1 or the base station 2transmits an Xn establishment request message to the opposite basestation.

Step 1301: A base station 1 transmits an X2 establishment requestmessage, the X2 establishment request message containing an identifierof the base station and information about cells of the base station. TheX2 request message further contains indication information about whethera cell/base station supports 5G features or supports an Xn interface.

Step 1302: A base station 2 transmits an X2 establishment responsemessage. The X2 establishment response message contains an identifier ofthe base station and information about cells of the base station. The X2response message further contains indication information about whether acell/base station supports 5G features or supports an Xn interface.

Step 1303: The base station 1 transmits an Xn establishment requestmessage. According to the messages in the steps 1301 and 1302, if boththe base station 1 and the base station 2 support the 5G features orsupport the establishment of an Xn interface, the base station 1initiates an Xn establishment process. The Xn establishment requestmessage contains the identifier of the base station and informationabout cells of the base station. The information about cells of the basestation contains the frequency of the cells.

Step 1304: The base station 2 transmits an Xn establishment responsemessage. The Xn establishment response message contains the identifierof the base station and information about cells of the base station. Theinformation about cells of the base station contains the frequency ofthe cells.

Method 3: An enhanced LTE base station (i.e., a base station 1)transmits an Xn establishment request message; and, if an opposite basestation (i.e., a base station 2) has the capability of establishing anXn interface, for example, if the base station 2 is an enhanced LTE basestation or a 5G base station, the base station 2 transmits an Xnestablishment response message. If the base station 2 does not have thecapability of establishing an Xn interface, for example, if the basestation 2 is an ordinary LTE base station, the base station 2 does nottransmit a response message or transmits a failure message. If the basestation 1 receives the response message, it is considered that the Xn isestablished successfully; however, if the base station 1 does notreceive the response message or receives the failure message, it can beconsidered that the Xn interface cannot be established between the basestation 1 and the base station 2.

The X2 interface can be established in a similar way. In other words,the base station 1 transmits an X2 establishment request message; if theopposite base station (i.e., the base station 2) has the capability ofestablishing an X2 interface, for example, if the base station 2 is anordinary LTE base station or an enhanced LTE base station, the basestation 2 transmits an X2 establishment response message. If the basestation 2 does not have the capability of establishing an X2 interface,for example, if the base station 2 is an ordinary 5G base station, thebase station 2 does not transmit a response message or transmits afailure message. If the base station 1 does not receive the responsemessage or receives the failure message, it can be considered that theX2 interface cannot be established between the base station 1 and thebase station 2.

Step 1301: A base station 1 transmits an X2 establishment requestmessage, the X2 establishment request message containing an identifierof the base station and information about cells of the base station.

Step 1302: A base station 2 transmits an X2 establishment responsemessage. The X2 establishment response message contains an identifier ofthe base station and information about cells of the base station.

Step 1303: The base station 1 Transmits an Xn establishment requestmessage. The Xn establishment response message contains the identifierof the base station and information about cells of the base station. Theinformation about cells of the base station contains the frequency ofthe cells.

Step 1304: If the base station 2 can identify the message in the step1303, the Xn interface can be established, and the base station 2transmits an Xn establishment response message. The Xn establishmentresponse message contains the identifier of the base station andinformation about cells of the base station. The information about cellsof the base station contains the frequency of the cells. Otherwise, thebase station does not transmit a response message or transmits an errormessage to the base station 1. The Xn interface between the base station1 and the base station 2 fails to be established.

Embodiment 10

Of course, the Xn can also be other interfaces, for example, an Xxinterface as described in this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 14, it isassumed that the horizontal interface is an Xx interface, and theprocess of establishing a horizontal interface is as follows.

1401: In the process of establishing an Xx interface, a base station 1transmits an Xx establishment request message. The message containsinformation about a serving cell in the base station 1. If the basestation 1 belongs to the LTE, the information about a serving cell isinformation about an LTE cell; however, if the base station 1 belongs tothe 5G, the base station establishment request message containsinformation about a 5G cell. If the information about the 5G cell issimilar to the information about the LTE cell, the information aboutcells can be transmitted by a same information element (IE, for short).If the information about the 5G cell is different from the informationabout the LTE cell, the information about cells needs to be transmittedby different IEs. In other words, the Xx establishment request messagecontains an IE for the LTE cell and an IE for the 5G cell. The basestation sets a corresponding IE according to different types of the basestations transmitting the message.

1402: Similarly, in an Xx establishment response message, theinformation about cells is transmitted by different IEs. In other words,the Xx establishment response message contains an IE for the LTE celland an IE for the 5G cell. The base station sets a corresponding IEaccording to different types of the base stations transmitting theresponse message.

Embodiment 11

In order to perform smooth evolution from the existing LTE network tothe 5G network, a 5G terminal must access to the 5G and also to theenhanced LTE access network. It means that the 5G terminal must supportnot only LTE protocols including an access stratum protocol and anon-access stratum protocol, but also 5G protocols including an accessstratum protocol and a non-access stratum protocol. The access stratumprotocol is a signaling protocol transparently transmitted to a corenetwork by a UE via an access network. When the access network is a 5Gaccess network, the 5G terminal can use new 5G features and thus use the5G protocols. If the access network is an LTE access network, the LTEaccess network may define two types. One type is an enhanced LTE accessnetwork which is able to be connected to a 5G core network, so that thenew 5G features can be used. The other type is an LTE access networkwhich is able to be connected to the EPC only, but not to the 5G corenetwork, so that the LTE terminal cannot use the new 5G features.Therefore, when the terminal is in the LTE access network, the terminalwill perform different operations according to the different type of theLTE access network.

Based on this, this embodiment of the present invention provides amethod for informing a UE about how to configure protocol by an enhancedLTE base station, comprising the following steps of:

transmitting, to a UE, a notification message that the access network ofthe UE can provide 5G features; and

receiving a RRC message transmitted by the UE, and acquiring anon-access stratum message carried by the RRC message so that the UEconfigures a protocol matched with the access network of the UE.

Specifically, FIG. 15 depicts a process of informing a UE of using whichprotocol to access to the network.

1501: A network informs a terminal that an access network can providenew 5G features. When the access network is an LTE access network, thenetwork informs the terminal that the access network is an enhanced LTEaccess network or an ordinary LTE access network. The informing can bedone by ways of a cell broadcast or a dedicated signaling. The informingby ways of a broadcast can be as follows: carrying indicationinformation in a broadcast message to indicate whether the accessnetwork has the capability of providing new 5G features. If the accessnetwork has the capability of providing new 5G features, the terminalcan configure a 5G non-access stratum message, and transmits the RRCmessage carrying the non-access stratum message to a 5G core network. Ifthe access network does not have the capability of providing new 5Gfeatures, the terminal configures a 4G access stratum message, andtransmits the RRC message carrying the non-access layer message to a 4Gcore network.

The informing by a dedicated signaling is as follows: carryingindication information in a dedicated signaling transmitted to theterminal, to indicate whether the access network has the capability ofproviding new 5G features. For example, the UE transmits an RRCestablishment request message to the access network, where the messagecarries the capability information of the UE. Upon receiving the RRCestablishment request message, the access network selects a proper corenetwork for the terminal according to the capability of the UE. Then,the access network transmits a radio establishment message carryingindication information for indicating the access network selects an EPCor a NGC for the terminal, that is, whether the terminal can use a 5Gnon-access stratum signaling to transmit a 5G non-access stratum messageto the core network.

Or, the UE transmits an RRC establishment request message to the accessnetwork, where this message carries the cause of RRC establishment andthe identifier of the UE. Upon receiving the RRC establishment requestmessage, the access network transmits a radio establishment message tothe UE, where this message carries indication information for indicatingwhether the access network is connected to the NGC, that is, whether theterminal can use a 5G non-access stratum signaling to transmit a 5Gnon-access stratum message to the core network.

1502: The UE transmits an RRC message to the access network, the RRCmessage carrying a non-access stratum message. According to theindication information in the step 1501, the UE configures acorresponding non-access stratum message. If the indication informationindicates that the access network has the capability of providing new 5Gfeatures, that is, the access network is an enhanced LTE access network,the access network selects a core network for the terminal or the accessnetwork is connected to a core network, and the terminal configures a 5Gnon-access stratum signaling and then transmits the 5G non-accessstratum signaling to the core network via the access network. If theindication information indicates that the access network does not havethe capability of providing new 5G features but has the capability ofproviding 4G features only, or if the access network selects a 4G corenetwork for the terminal, the terminal configures a 4G non-accessstratum signaling and transmits the 4G non-access stratum signaling tothe 4G core network via the access network.

Embodiment 12

Referring to FIG. 16, based on the method for accessing to a corenetwork by an enhanced LTE base station provided in Embodiment 5,Embodiment 12 of the present invention provides a device for selecting acore network for a UE by an enhanced LTE base station. The devicecomprises a connection module 1601, a selection module 1602, a receivingmodule 1603 and a transmitting module 1604, wherein:

the connection module is configured to establish a RRC connection to aUE; the selection module is configured to select a core networkcorresponding to the UE according to a preset principle; the receivingmodule is configured to receive a response message transmitted by thecorresponding core network; and, the transmitting module is configuredto transmit a RRC configuration message to the UE to configure orreconfigure a user plane for the UE.

In the solutions of the present invention, the specific functionimplementations of the modules in the device for accessing to a corenetwork by an enhanced LTE base station provided in Embodiment 12 canrefer to the specific steps of the method for accessing to a corenetwork by an enhanced LTE base station provided in Embodiment 5, andwill not be repeated here.

Embodiment 13

Referring to FIG. 17, based on the method for establishing a secondarybase station for a UE by an enhanced LTE base station provided inEmbodiments 6, 7 and 8, Embodiment 13 of the present invention providesa device for establishing a secondary base station for a UE by anenhanced LTE base station. The device comprises a first transmittingmodule 1701, a first receiving module 1702, a second transmitting module1703, a second receiving module 1704 and a third transmitting module1705, wherein:

the first transmitting module is configured to transmit a secondary basestation addition request message to a secondary base station with an X2interface; the first receiving module is configured to receive asecondary base station addition response message transmitted by thesecondary base station with the X2 interface, where the secondary basestation addition response message carrying configuration information fora UE provided by the secondary base station; the second transmittingmodule is configured to transmit, to the UE, a RRC message carryingconfiguration information for the UE provided by the secondary basestation with the X2 interface; the second receiving module is configuredto receive the RRC message transmitted by the UE after new configurationinformation is successfully configured; and, the third transmittingmodule configured to transmit a response information to the secondarybase station with the X2 interface.

In the solutions of the present invention, the specific functionimplementation of each module in the device for establishing a secondarybase station for a UE by an enhanced LTE base station provided inEmbodiment 13 can refer to the specific steps of the method forestablishing a secondary base station for a UE by an enhanced LTE basestation provided in Embodiments 6, 7 and 8, and will not be repeatedhere.

Embodiment 14

Referring to FIG. 18, based on the method for establishing a horizontalinterface between an enhanced LTE base station and a neighboring basestation provided in Embodiments 9 and 10, Embodiment 14 of the presentinvention provides a device for establishing a horizontal interfacebetween an enhanced LTE base station and a neighboring base station. Thedevice comprises a transmitting module 1801 and a receiving module 1802,wherein:

In the solutions of the present invention, the specific functionimplementations of the modules in the device for establishing ahorizontal interface between an enhanced LTE base station and aneighboring base station provided in Embodiment 14 can refer to thespecific steps of the method for establishing a horizontal interfacebetween an enhanced LTE base station and a neighboring base stationprovided in Embodiments 9 and 10, and will not be repeated here.

Embodiment 15

Referring to FIG. 19, based on the method for informing a UE about howto configure protocol by an enhanced LTE base station provided inEmbodiment 11, Embodiment 15 of the present invention provides a devicefor informing a UE about how to configure protocol by an enhanced LTEbase station. The device comprises a transmitting module 1901 and areceiving module 1902, wherein:

In the solutions of the present invention, the specific functionimplementations of each module in the device for informing a UE abouthow to configure protocol

by an enhanced LTE base station provided in Embodiment 15 can refer tothe specific steps of the method informing a configuration protocol UEby an enhanced LTE base station provided in Embodiment 11, and will notbe repeated here.

What is described in the foregoing are only embodiments of the presentdisclosure, and should not be construed as limitations to the presentdisclosure. Any changes, equivalent replacements, modifications madewithout departing from the scope and spirit of the present disclosureare intended to be included within the protecting scope of the presentdisclosure.

1. A method by an access network node for controlling or paging a userequipment (UE), characterized by comprising: receiving mobility levelinformation of a UE; performing handover control and/or measurementcontrol and/or paging for the UE according to the mobility levelinformation of the UE.
 2. The method of claim 1, characterized in thatthe mobility level information of the UE comprises no mobility,restricted mobility, or unrestricted mobility.
 3. The method of claim 2,characterized in that in response to the mobility level information ofthe UE being no mobility, the mobility level information of the UEfurther comprises: no mobility at all, or the UE only moving within ascope of a current cell, current tracking area (TA), or current basestation; and/or in response to the mobility level information of the UEbeing restricted mobility, the mobility level information of the UEfurther comprises: an identifier of a geographical area where the UE isallowed to move; wherein the identifier of the geographical area is anidentifier of a TA or base station.
 4. The method of claim 3,characterized in that in response to the mobility level information ofthe UE comprising the UE only moving within the scope of the currentcell, the mobility level information of the UE further comprises a cellidentifier of a cell where the UE is located; and/or, in response to themobility level information of the UE comprising the UE only movingwithin the scope of the current TA, the mobility level information ofthe UE further comprises a TA identifier of a TA where the UE islocated.
 5. The method of claim 2, wherein the performing handovercontrol for the UE comprises at least one of the following: notperforming handover for the UE, in response to the mobility levelinformation of the UE comprising no mobility, or in response to themobility level information of the UE comprising no mobility at all, orin response to the mobility level information of the UE comprising nomobility and the UE only moving within the scope of the current cell;not performing handover to other TAs or base stations other than the TAor base station where the UE is located, in response to the mobilitylevel information of the UE comprising no mobility, and the UE onlymoving within the scope of the current TA or current base station; andnot performing handover to a cell outside of a specified geographicalarea for the UE, in response to the mobility level information of the UEcomprising restricted mobility, wherein the specified geographical areais a geographical area configured for the UE where the UE is allowed tomove.
 6. The method of claim 2, wherein the performing measurementcontrol for the UE comprises at least one of the following: notconfiguring a measurement for the UE, in response to the mobility levelinformation of the UE comprising no mobility, or in response to themobility level information of the UE comprising no mobility at all, orin response to the mobility level information of the UE comprising nomobility and the UE only moving within the scope of the current cell;only containing a cell or frequency in the TA or base station where theUE is located in a message for configuring the UE to perform ameasurement, in response to the mobility level information of the UEcomprising no mobility and the UE only moving within the scope of thecurrent TA or current base station; and only containing a cell orfrequency within the specified geographical area in the message forconfiguring the UE to perform a measurement, in response to the mobilitylevel information of the UE comprising restricted mobility, wherein thespecified geographical area is a geographical area configured for the UEwhere the UE is allowed to move.
 7. The method of claim 2, wherein theperforming paging operation for the UE comprising at least one of thefollowing: receiving a paging message for the UE; only paging the UEwithin respective cells under an access point of the UE; or only pagingthe UE within a cell where the UE is located, in response to themobility level information of the UE comprising no mobility, or inresponse to the mobility level information of the UE comprising nomobility at all, or in response to the mobility level information of theUE comprising no mobility and the UE only moving within the scope of thecurrent cell, receiving a paging message for the UE; and only paging theUE within cells of a TA or base station where the UE is located, inresponse to the mobility level information of the UE comprising nomobility, and the UE only moving within the scope of the current TA orcurrent base station, and requiring to send a paging message to otheraccess network nodes; and sending the paging message to an accessnetwork node which controls a cell within the specified geographicalarea, in response to the mobility level information of the UE comprisingno mobility, and the UE only moving within the scope of the current TAor base station, receiving a paging message for the UE; and only pagingthe UE in a cell within the specified geographical area, in response tothe mobility level information of the UE comprising restricted mobility,and sending the paging message to an access network node which controlsa cell within the specified geographical area when the access networknode requiring to send a paging message to other access network nodes,in response to the mobility level information of the UE comprisingrestricted mobility, wherein the specified geographical area is ageographical area configured for the UE where the UE is allowed to move.8. The method of any one of claim 1, wherein the mobility levelinformation of the UE is received during an attachment procedure of theUE.
 9. The method of any one of claim 1, characterized in that afterreceiving the mobility level information of the UE, the method furthercomprises: receiving updated mobility level information of the UE; andusing the updated mobility level information of the UE to update savedmobility level information of the UE.
 10. The method of claim 9, whereinthe mobility level information of the UE is updated by one of thefollowing: a handover procedure happening between different cells ordifferent access network nodes; a service demand or mobility demand ofthe UE; and information received by a core network node from a higherlayer or operator.
 11. The method of claim 9, wherein the receiving themobility level information of the UE comprises: receiving mobility levelinformation of the UE sent by a core network node or the UE; and/or,wherein the updated mobility level information of the UE is receivedfrom the core network node or the UE.
 12. An access network node forcontrolling or paging a user equipment (UE), characterized bycomprising: a transceiver and a controller; wherein the transceiver isconfigured to receive mobility level information of the UE; and thecontroller is configured to perform handover control and/or measurementcontrol and/or paging for the UE according to the mobility levelinformation of the UE.
 13. The access network node of claim 12, whereinthe mobility level information of the UE comprises no mobility,restricted mobility, or unrestricted mobility.
 14. The access networknode of claim 13, characterized in that in response to the mobilitylevel information of the UE being no mobility, the mobility levelinformation of the UE further comprises: no mobility at all, or the UEonly moving within a scope of a current cell, current tracking area(TA), or current base station; and/or in response to the mobility levelinformation of the UE being restricted mobility, the mobility levelinformation of the UE further comprises: an identifier of a geographicalarea where the UE is allowed to move; wherein the identifier of thegeographical area is an identifier of a TA or base station.
 15. Theaccess network node of claim 14, characterized in that in response tothe mobility level information of the UE comprising the UE only movingwithin the scope of the current cell, the mobility level information ofthe UE further comprises a cell identifier of a cell where the UE islocated; and/or, in response to the mobility level information of the UEcomprising the UE only moving within the scope of the current TA, themobility level information of the UE further comprises a TA identifierof a TA where the UE is located.